Creativity.

Imagination.

Confidence.

Being one’s self.

These are the rock solid underpinnings of the Ladybug Girl series by David Soman and Jacky Davis that, as a mom, make me love the books.

But both of my kids (Luke, age 4.5 and Brynn, age 23 months) love them as well, and here’s why:

Ladybug Girl, aka Lulu, dresses in a tutu and defeats playground monsters.

She wears red wings with black spots and braves sharks at the bottom of puddles.

She helps neighbors carry in their groceries and can count up to infinity.

She is kind, imaginative, and intrepid, but she is not infallible.

She makes mistakes when dealing with her friends, she gets frustrated when playing with Bumblebee Boy, and she’s not quite sure the ocean is safe when she first encounters it.

In the lives of my children, these traits and experiences are very real.  Luke and Brynn enjoy watching Lulu overcome her fears and work through problems, and she teaches them how to engage with the world of big scary things and friends who have their own minds.  Luke, in particular, is at the point where he needs more complex social stories that mirror the situations that he’s encountering at preschool, and these books are perfect for him.

At the moment, Luke is enjoying the following books in the series:

  Ladybug Girl and Bumblebee Boy: About two friends negotiating what and how to play–very important budding skills for preschoolers and Kindergartners.

  The Amazing Adventures of Bumblebee Boy: About older brother Sam learning to play with his younger brother–Luke and Brynn are likewise discovering the pains and joys of playing with a sibling.

  Ladybug Girl at the Beach: About Lulu’s day at the beach and how she gradually works up the courage to play in the water–Luke is scared of the ocean right now, so he’s been reading this book often.

  Ladybug Girl and the Big Snow: About Lulu’s adventures in the snow.  She gets very frustrated because everything is much harder in the deep, soft snow, but she perseveres and turns her day into a great one.  Luke likes how Lulu plays with her brother and builds snow creatures.

Brynn enjoys these books:

Ladybug Girl and Bumblebee Boy: Brynn loves the imaginative play that goes on in the book.  In the car the other day, she was yelling at the top of her lungs, “Ladybug Girl and Bumblebee can do ANYTHING!”  “Bumblebee Boy” is still a bit of a mouthful for her…

  The original Ladybug Girl: I don’t know how many times Brynn has used the phrase from the book, “I’m not too little!”  And she loves Lulu’s dog, Bingo.

Happy reading!

–Erin, Luke, and Brynn

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